Coming Out Of Your Shell
by no-sweeter-sound
Summary: It's amazing what moving to a new place can do. The people you meet and the things you experience can help you become a new person, an even better person than you were before because the people you meet are sometimes just that special.


I was brought out of my daze by my dad patting my knee from the front seat of the car."Hannah, come on, we're at the Palmwoods". Oh great, Palmwoods hotel, home of the future famous. And now home to me, my two sisters and my dad for the next few years, until I'm old enough and have enough money to move away. I'm only 16 at the moment, turning 17 at the beginning of April. My older sister Natalia is the reason we moved to the otherside of the country, leaving Florida behind for California. At 19 years old I thought she may have realised that she should give up her dream of being a world renowned singer and make a wise choice, like going to college. Don't get me wrong, she can sing her heart out, it's just the attitude that let's her down. Same with my younger sister Georgina. On the outside she may look like a sweet and innocent 12 year old, with bright blue eyes matched with the golden long blonde hair and being an elegant ballerina. But when you've lived with her for 12 years like I have, you realise what a mischievous, attention seeking brat she is.

I packed my sketch pad and pencils into my bag, put my headphones on and hit play on my iPod. My dad passed me my two huge suitcases from the boot of the car and I wheeled them to the entrance of my new home. I must admit it, it doesn't look too bad of a place. There's a pool, a vending machine and the lobby looks clean and inviting, besides the big man behind the desk.

My thought's were rudely interupted when my headphones were knocked of my head and the beautiful sounds of John Mayer's voice were replaced with Georgina's screeching."Hurry up Hannah I need to go and pick my room and then go and see what California boys are like"."George, I'm sure that Dad will say what rooms we get. And you're 12 years old, none of the boys my age sat by the pool are going to notice you, okay?"."First of all, don't call me George, it makes me sound like a boy. And you're just jealous because no one has ever taken an interest in you and you are four years older than me"! That child really needs sorting out. But it's true, no boy has ever really taken an interest in me before. I guess it's because I like to keep to myself, music blasting in my ears and a pencil and sketchbook in my hands, in my own little world. That is until you get to know me though, and then I can be the fun and energetic Hannah that people learn to love, it's just that no one has ever really given it a chance.

It turned out that our room was 3J and according to Mr. Bitters, the slobbish man that greeted us with a false smile,"It's one of the nicest rooms to offer at this time".We walked over to the elevator at the end of the lobby and Nat and George piled straight in, leaving me and Dad to shove all 12, yes 12, of Nat's cases in and the few cases that George,Dad and I had. By the time dad got in the elevator it looked packed. "Sorry Hannah, guess you'll have to get the next one", Nat said spitefully pressing the button and leaving me on the otherside of the closing doors. Well I guess it's the stairs for me. At least I only had my one satchel to carry. I put my headphones back onto my head and made my way up. When I reached the second floor, I heard shouting and screaming and suddenly four boys ran past me, nearly knocking me back down the stairs. They looked to be around my age, each one looking too distinctly different to be a family. The first for example had perfectly styled brunette hair and was at least 6 feet tall and the boy behind him didn't look much shorter, the difference being his dirty blond hair and the fact that in his hands he seemed to be carrying a black helmet. The next had pale skin and his dark hair was spiked messily on top of his head with gel, but still looked suprisingly tidy. He was easily shorter than the other two, but still was a good few inches taller than me. The final boy that scrambled down the staircase came to a stop right in front of me, blocking my way up the stairs. He looked panicked and quickly spluttered out "You didn't happen to see a boy carrying a helmet did you?". He held his tan hands together in a pleading manner and his eyes scanned my face for any sort of answer. "Umm...yeah. Blond right? Two boys and him ran past about 30 seconds before you.". "Thankyou", he said with a pearly white smile, the white being bright in contrast to his beautifully tanned skin. Before I had the chance to say antoher word he was running down the stairs again, screaming something that sounded like "I'm going to get you Kendall!". I shook my head and made my way to the new apartment.

(Page Break)

When I opened the door of 3J I wasn't surprised to see that only Dad was left standing in the kitchen. The others must already be in their bedrooms, and Nat would probably be there for the next 3 years unpacking all of her stuff. "What crappy room have I been left with then?", I asked my Dad, already expecting that I would be left with the smallest room after George and Nat have their way. "Hannah, language. And your room isn't too bad.". I gave him a 'really' look before he said, "It's down the hall, the last room. I already put your cases in there.". "Thankyou!" I said as I walked down the hall to my own personal space, the place I love.

It wasn't actually terrible. The window was big and made the room very bright and gave me an amazing view of L.A. with a desk sitting underneath, perfect for me to sit at and draw to my hearts content. The walls were a cream colour, but Dad had already said we could decorate them however we liked, meaning George's room would be pink, pink and more pink, with the occasional Dak Zevon posters plastered to the walls. I took a seat on the desk chair and looked out of the window, which also gave me a perfect view of the Palmwoods pool. There, I could see the same four boys from earlier sat closely around the firepit. The first three boys were soaking wet and looked like the'yd been dunked in the pool, whereas the one that stopped me, the one with the perfect skin, sat bone dry, wearing the black helmet he had been searching for and a content smile on his face. One that left me smiling too.


End file.
